A piece of paper can convey a thousand words and a thousand years! Why did Fudan University choose Kaihua paper for its new admission letter?

On June 23, various places announced the college entrance examination score lines, and the topic #Fudan admission notice is a thousand-year-old piece of paper# also became a hot search.

The newly unveiled 2023 Fudan University undergraduate admission letter is the first to be written on Kaihua paper, which is "resurrected" by Fudan's scientific achievements. This thin piece of paper condenses the profound historical traditions of the Chinese nation and the profound scientific heritage of Fudan University. Many netizens expressed their envy: a dream love "book"! Previous students can apply for reissue! ……

"This is not just a simple admission letter. It carries the ancient papermaking technology and Fudan's advanced technology, and interprets the spirit of 'extensive learning and firm determination, earnest questioning and profound thinking.'" President Jin Li introduced it in the theme video "A Thousand Years of Paper, Fudan New Students" specially produced by Fudan Undergraduate Admissions Office.

What is the secret behind this new version of the notification letter that embodies the "trinity of science, humanities, and art"? Let's appreciate the interesting "soul" of Fudan people.

Not only a notice, but also a work of art

The overall color tone of the notification cover is Fudan blue, symbolizing the hope and vigor of new life. The back cover is the motto of Fudan University "Be erudite and determined, ask questions and think deeply", representing the expectations and hopes for the new life.

What is the university spirit? How can we live up to the university life? Open the blue cover, and the right side of the inside page of the notice says: "You are all college students. However, the so-called university does not mean the size of the school building, the age of the students, or the salary of the teachers. It means high morals and profound knowledge. You must respect morality and concentrate on your studies while studying in this school, so as not to live up to the three words "college students"."

The above proverb was spoken by Ma Xiangbo, the founder and first president of Fudan University. The new version of the notification letter uses the old president's interpretation of the university spirit and academic style to set a spiritual signpost for Fudan freshmen who are about to embark on an unknown journey.

The elegant regular script of the notice was written by Gao Xiang, a professor at the School of Public Health of Fudan University and the main lecturer of the core general education course "Chinese Calligraphy Art" of Fudan University. The seal "Jinli" at the end of the notice was carved by Xu Gufu, a distinguished expert of Fudan University and a famous bird and insect seal engraver. The Fudan real-life prints printed on the inner pages of the notice were created by Ni Jianming, a distinguished expert of Fudan University and a famous printmaker...

Such ingenuity can be found everywhere in the new version of the notification letter. As Pan Weijie, director of Fudan University's undergraduate admissions office, said, "It is not only a notification letter, but also a work of art." In the view of Zhang Lifen, professor of the School of Journalism at Fudan University, all the careful designs "are Fudan, a century-old university, telling every freshman: 'We care about you.'"

A thin notice with profound technological "blessing"

It is worth mentioning that the new version of the admission letter is for the first time based on Kaihua paper, which is the "resurrected" scientific and technological achievements of Fudan University.

Kaihua paper was born in Kaihua County, Zhejiang Province. It is delicate, white, thin but tough, and is known as the "crown jewel" of traditional Chinese handmade paper. The papermaking process of Kaihua paper began in the Ming Dynasty and flourished in the Qing Dynasty. Many valuable books in the early Qing Dynasty were written and printed on Kaihua paper. After the middle of the Qing Dynasty, due to frequent wars, "paper troughs were abandoned and craftsmen were exiled", and the core raw material, moxa, gradually dried up, and the craft was lost.

Ancient books carry the two major inventions of papermaking and printing, and are the witness of Chinese civilization. However, for a long time, relevant departments around the world and even in China have used Japanese paper as the paper for paper cultural relics restoration. "We hope to develop a traditional paper that can truly represent China, and use it to restore and protect China's paper cultural relics." Yang Guanghui, executive vice president of the Institute for the Protection of Chinese Ancient Books at Fudan University, introduced.

What kind of traditional paper can represent China? The long-lost Kaihua paper has entered the field of vision of the research team of the Chinese Ancient Books Protection and Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as the "Institute").

Since 2016, under the leadership of Yang Yuliang, the director of the institute and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the institute has established the "Kaihua Paper Research Academician Workstation". As the chief scientist in the field of polymers in China, Academician Yang Yuliang personally solved the scientific and technological problems in theoretical and practical papermaking, and explained the various scientific problems in handmade papermaking to Huang Hongjian, the inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of Kaihua paper; Yang Guanghui, Sui Jun, Long Xiangyang, research librarians of the institute, Chen Gang, professor of the Department of Cultural Relics and Museology, Zhong Yang, Zhong Jiang, Zhang Wenju, professor of the School of Life Sciences, Tang Yi, professor of the Department of Chemistry, etc., all participated in solving the scientific and humanistic problems of Kaihua paper. Wei Li, a part-time researcher of the institute, and bibliophiles Liu Yang and Weng Lianxi provided their private collections of precious ancient books on Kaihua paper for scientific testing and research reference.

At the end of 2017, through the joint exploration of polymer materials, chemistry, biology, classical literature, cultural relics and other disciplines, the research team of Fudan University successfully "revived" the long-lost Kaihua paper craft. The revived new Kaihua paper is thin, flexible, white as jade, and its physical and chemical indicators are close to the level of ancient paper. The preservation life of paper can reach more than a thousand years. It is not only suitable for the restoration of ancient books, calligraphy and painting creation, but also can be used for printing.

During the recycling process, the scientific research team not only solved the technical bottleneck problem of ultra-thin paper manufacturing, but also made breakthrough progress in the rapid genetic propagation of the raw material, mulberry flower.

"In the future, we will strive to promote Kaihua paper to become the representative of traditional Chinese paper in the fields of calligraphy and painting, ancient book restoration, woodblock printing, etc. It must stand the test of the world and be at the forefront of the world. This is also the original intention of Academician Yang Yuliang to lead the team to recreate Kaihua paper." Yang Guanghui said.

Every stroke is a "welcome gift" written by teachers and students to the new students

Fudan blue, the old president's motto, Kaihua paper, seal carving, real-life prints... the use of a series of elements makes the notice present a perfect blend of science, humanities and art. However, the mystery hidden in the notice is not limited to this.

This year, Fudan Undergraduate Admissions Office also specially invited teachers and students to handwrite the notification information together to send good wishes to the new students whom they have never met before.

As the writer of the notice, Gao Xiang, a professor at the School of Public Health and a member of the Chinese Calligraphers Association, selected a small regular script font that is more like a gentleman's style based on the overall design style of the notice. Grinding ink, adding water, dipping ink test paper, splashing ink and writing... Although he only wrote 47 small regular scripts, every word carries the best wishes for the new students.

“A gentleman is not a tool. I hope freshmen will not stereotype themselves too early or assume that they can only do specific things.” In Gao Xiang’s view, the newly unveiled notification letter is the result of Fudan’s multidisciplinary integration. He hopes that after admission, freshmen can make full use of Fudan’s advantages of multidisciplinary integration and freedom and inclusiveness to try more possibilities in life.

Now, more than 3,000 notification letters have been printed. After the admission results are released, the names of the new students and their major information in the text will be written by students from the Fudan University Calligraphy and Painting Association.

The Fudan University Calligraphy and Painting Association was founded in 1978. It is the first student club established after the reform and opening up, and is determined to inherit classics and spread culture. As a core member of the Calligraphy and Painting Association and a graduate this year, Sun Peijun, a 2019 undergraduate student at the School of Management, is full of expectations.

Sun Peijun has studied calligraphy since he was young. The beauty of calligraphy runs through his ordinary yet extraordinary college life. He said that he understood the "Jun" in his name as the "Jun" in "Jun porcelain". "In the four years at Fudan, I have been in the kiln with one color and out of the kiln with thousands of colors. I hope that my juniors will be the same." Sun Peijun hopes that these notices written by him and the members can become the "welcome gifts" given by seniors to freshmen and sent to the freshmen.

In addition to the current teachers and students, Fudan alumni also expressed their deep friendship to the freshmen in a special way.

Zhu Yizhun, Vice President of the Macau University of Science and Technology and Academician of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, made a special donation to support the production of the new version of the notification.

Zhu Yizhun hopes that the freshmen who receive the admission letters can become innovative Fudan freshmen, cultivate scientific thinking, artistic attainments, and develop comprehensively in all aspects, truly practice the school motto of "Be erudite and determined, ask questions and think deeply", and strive to build a strong country in education, science and technology, and talents.

Huang Jie, reporter of Metropolis Express and Orange-Persimmon Interactive